ARTHUR Askey would be horrified to know what has happened to our honey bee population in recent years, after singing his comical Music Hall ditty, The Bee Song, with such enthusiasm over the decades.

The raw facts are that honey bees are worth more than £150 million to the British economy. What might that figure be on a worldwide scale?

With estimates of around one third of all the food consumed by the human race being dependant upon bees and the unprecedented decline in their population over the last five years or so, the world’s food supplies will struggle to cope if something is not done by all of us as a matter of some urgency.

These figures and statistics can only show a fraction of the impact if truth be known – add in factors such as the obvious and hidden health giving properties of honey, the numbers of people employed in the various parts of the Apiary industry, from hive manufacturers to clothing suppliers and you can see that, as the problems currently being experienced by beekeepers across the globe get worse, the economic and environmental effects are further exaggerated.

So, firstly, what can you do to help stop the decline? The list must begin with all of us taking a more responsible attitude towards the use of chemical insecticides in our gardens and on our allotments.

If you feel that you must use an insecticide, read the instructions thoroughly and do not use the sprays during the middle of the day when bees will be flying – at first light or at dusk are the more responsible times, although not at all is best – if the instructions say it is harmful to bees, put it back on the garden centre shelf to help put pressure on the manufacturers to stop producing these outdated and harmful products. Plant your gardens with as many bee friendly plants as you can – the internet is full of websites offering good advice and guidance on this important subject – local libraries have internet access if you do not.

Support your local Huddersfield and District Bee Keeping Association, with courses, meetings, visits, visiting speakers and shows – our local association is doing all it can to educate and inform us.

Its national counterpart, the British Beekeepers Association, founded in 1874, with its 19,000 members, is helping by putting pressure on government and by educating teachers and school children so that future generations can support our honey bees.

Visit www.britishbee.org.uk and search for our local group through the members page. Call the local secretary’s Yvonne Kilvington on 07876 618071 or Jacqui Green on 07540 174060 for information on becoming a member and supporting their vital work.

Remember that, the next time that you buy fruit from the supermarket, most of it has developed as a direct result of the activities of bees.

Most commercially grown tomatoes are produced as direct result of the activities of bumble bees these days.

That bottle of cooking oil, whether from oil seed rape, sunflowers or olives, which sits in our kitchen cupboards, has only got there because of bees and most of the margarine that you consume has come from the same source.

` A new series, starting in May, will be looking at the impact of the declining range of chemicals to cure our garden problems and the alternatives that are on offer to all of us right now.

To contribute your thoughts and ideas to this series of articles, write to me at Graham’s Organic Alternatives, Features Office, Huddersfield Daily Examiner, Queen Street South, Huddersfield, HD1 3DU.